


Accidentally On Purpose

by camshaft22



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: 5+1 Things, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 02:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10233599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camshaft22/pseuds/camshaft22
Summary: Five times people thought Hikaru and Ben were married.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Star Trek belongs to Paramount and a lot of other people. I only own my car.

First time 

Hikaru had been planning this date for weeks. Pavel had introduced them at breakfast one morning as they were limping home after facing Nero. The tall, cute engineer from the USS Andarta with the nice hair named Ben and he had worked together off and on. Hikaru had steady hands and Ben needed the assistance as he repaired the consoles. It was really great and they realized that they had a lot in common. After returning to Earth and getting the Enterprise was recommissioned, they went back into space. Ben and Hikaru both kept making excuses to see each other. Pavel encouraged him to ask Ben out, having grown tired of listening to Hikaru agonize over Ben. Now, finally, finally they had a chance to get off the ship and spend time together. It was going to be so great. All the lower ranks had shore leave on Starbase 14 while the Higher Ups went to a Diplomatic affair. It was perfect. He smiled to himself, checking his hair and left his bunk, wearing a soft blue shirt with a black jacket over it, with pants and comfortable shoes. Hikaru hurried down to the transporter, stepping on the pad as the next group prepared to go down. Ben was with one of the first groups with Hikaru scheduled a little later in group O. 

Once he rematerialized on the Starbase, Hikaru took off towards the café that Ben had mentioned. The Starbase reminded Hikaru of San Francisco but not as crowded. It was really nice. He passed dozens of shops, making mental notes to return later and look around. Maybe Ben would like to come? Hikaru should ask. He entered the shop, smelling the sweet scent of both tea and cake. The walls were light gray with blue accents and the tables were a mish-mash of different sizes and weird chairs. It was cozy and welcoming and Hikaru knew this was going to be really great. Ben was sitting, holding his Padd and writing a few notes. It made Hikaru’s heart flutter as he made his way to the table. Hikaru stopped at the chair, putting his hand upon the top and smiled. “Hi. Have you been waiting long?”

Ben put down his PADD and shook his head. “Not at all,” he said and gestured towards the empty seat. “I’m glad you made it.”

Hikaru sat down and pulled up the food menu on the wall unit. “I’m glad I did too. Were you working on something?” he asked, pointing to Ben’s PADD. Ben always seemed so busy. Hikaru understood being a workaholic seemed to be an engineer thing but he wanted to know more about him. 

Ben nodded. “Yes. There’s a contest for a space station design. They want to try building self-contained cities in orbit. You have to come up with a design and then be able to defend it before the building committee. Mr. Scott suggested that I do it,” he said, looking excited.

“Oh wow! That would be so cool,” Hikaru told him. “What all do you have to come up with?” he asked as he selected his order. “Did you order?” Hikaru followed up, glancing towards him.

“I did order. I just asked them to wait until you arrived and ordered,” Ben told him. “You have to come up with everything. How ships will dock, how it will stay orbiting, the process and materials needed in order to maintain it plus what it actually looks like,” Ben paused, gathering his thoughts. “Mr. Scott thought it would be good for me. I originally studied Civil engineering and then got interested in Cybernetics. It was that which grabbed the Captain and Mr. Scott’s attention when he was rebuilding his crew.”

“How lucky for me,” Hikaru told him, leaning on his elbow. “If you hadn’t been apart of the new crew, repairing things, it might’ve taken us much longer to get together.”

Ben laughed. “Very brazen, aren’t you?” he asked. 

“If you like it, then the answer is definitely yes,” Hikaru replied. “If it’s not something you’re fond of, then yes, but I’ll try to keep it under control,” he said with a wink.

Ben reached out and grasped his hand. “I think I like it from you.”

Hikaru squeezed his hand. “Well, that’s good news.” 

A young woman approached the table, smiling warmly at them. “Here are your orders! Enjoy and thank you for coming!” She put the plates and cups down in front of them.

“Thank you,” Ben told her, picking up his fork. “What did you get?” he asked as he took a bite of the still warm pastry.

“Coconut Milk cake with raspberry filling,” Hikaru told him. “Would you like to try a bite?” he asked, picking up a forkful and offering it to Ben. Ben leaned forward and took the bite. He pulled away, chewing.

“Oh wow! This is really excellent,” Ben praised. “I got the chocolate croissant. Would you like some?”

“Please,” Hikaru said as Ben cut a piece with his fork and speared it, offering it to Hikaru. Hikaru took the bite, feeling the still warm chocolate drip upon his lip. Ben leaned forward, licking the drop before kissing him. There was a high pitched sound of static from across the café. They both jerked apart and looked towards where the noise was coming from. 

An Alien hurried towards them, letting out a hiss of static before words formed from the translator on its neck. “Humans marry like this?”

Hikaru glanced at Ben who looked flummoxed. A human woman with intricate braids, wearing a nice gown came over. “What’s going on?”

There was another hiss of static before words came out. “Ambassador Ferrell! You did not mention that your peoples get married in such civilized fashion!”

The Ambassador’s face went slack as she looked at the Alien being. “Uh…”

The Alien gestured wildly and hissed happily. “I was so worried that your peoples weren’t open. This puts our minds at ease!”

The Ambassador turned and shot them a look. Hikaru and Ben both froze. The Ambassador turned back and looked at the Alien. “Our customs do differ, but we definitely value love and being open.”

There were more gestures as the Alien touched the Ambassador and spun her around, the two of them dancing for a brief moment. “We trust that our peoples will grow closer. Come, let’s discuss,” the Alien said as he lead the Ambassador out of the café.

They looked at each other and Hikaru thinned his lips. “Does that mean we’re married?”

“Maybe?” Ben replied, looking confused. 

Hikaru nodded and flushed, realizing what he asked. “Well, Mr. Sulu. Shall we finish our food and get out of here?”

Ben laughed. “Sounds like a plan, Mr. Sulu.”

***  
Second time:

Hikaru stood just outside the shuttle, watching Ben, from a few feet away, try to salvage the nacelle from where it had broken off in the crash. They had been on a mission with Lt. Shira Davis and Ensign Adriel Drury, both in Sciences to run experiments on the impact of the odd Sun to the surrounding planets. The sun pulsated from hot to cool, leaving the planet scarred by swaths of formerly frozen rivers during the cool periods and an odd atmosphere effect that made the planet relatively habitable. Hikaru had flown them down due to a heavy ion field that would disrupt transportation and Ben had come to do some experiments of his own. They had been hit by something and crashed an hour ago. Davis and Drury had gone to seek out supplies and to see if they could find what brought them down while Hikaru guarded the shuttlecraft and Ben. He approached Ben and looked around. “Hey. Is it salvageable?” Hikaru asked.

Ben turned and glared at him. “I don’t know yet. All I can tell is that it didn’t explode. I’m hoping that the fusion matrix is still intact. Is there any way you could’ve maybe put us down a little softer?” 

Hikaru looked at him, shocked. “Are- Are you seriously upset with me about us crashing?! Something hit us. I took her down as softly as possible!” he retorted. “You did realize that, right? That we were brought down on purpose? Or were you just not playing attention?”

“Ok, so we were shot down, maybe! Who shot us down?” Ben asked, turning towards him as he stood, leaning forward to tower over Hikaru. “From what I can tell, this planet is uninhabited. Do you realize how delicate this equipment is?” he asked, pointing to the nacelle. “Or are you too busy doing stupid stunts?”

“Those stupid stunts saved our lives!” Hikaru snapped, getting in his face. “I can’t believe you’re upset with me. I did what I could and what I was able to do-“ 

The sound of clapping started, interrupting their shouting fest. They immediately pulled their phasers and turned, standing together and guarding each other’s backs.

“My word,” A cultured voice said as a group of Klingons surrounded them, coming from the forest. “You two must truly care for the other.”

Another of the Klingons laughed. “It reminds me of my own courting of Korath! Hell of a fighter, I still have the scars he gave me from our first meeting!”

Hikaru looked towards the leader. “I’m Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu. We’re on a peaceful mission of exploration. What, may I ask, are you doing on this world?”

“I’m Lieutenant B’Mat and we crashed here. Did you shoot us down?” he asked, gripping his weapon tighter. 

Hikaru shook his head. “No! Our shuttle also got shot down,” he told them, pointing to the damaged nacelle. He glanced at Ben then turned his attention back to B’Mat. “Can we cease hostilities for the moment and help each other get off this planet?” Hikaru asked. “Lt. Jeong? What is the status of our shuttle?”

“The nacelle is salvageable but it needs a lot of work, Sir,” Ben replied. Hikaru nodded.

“What is the status of your ship?” Hikaru asked.

B’Mat chuckled. “We did not agree to helping you, human. What is it to say that we won’t just take the necessary parts for our own ship?”

“You would be a coward if you did,” Hikaru said, pointblank. “You’re no coward.”

B’Mat barked out a laugh. “True, human! I am no coward,” he proclaimed, spitting upon the ground. “We will have our ceasefire. As long as you help us and for the sake of your mating.”

Hikaru frowned in confusion but quickly nodded. “You’ll need to help us as well, but agreed. There are two more of our crewmates out in the forest. I’m going to contact them so we can all help each other,” he told them, pulling out his communicator. “Sulu to Davis, come in.”

“Davis here, Lieutenant,” Davis replied.

“We need you to return to the shuttle. We’ve encountered Klingon soldiers and we’re all going to help one another to get off this planet. We have reason to believe our crash wasn’t an accident after all.”

“We’re on our way, Sir,” Davis’ reply comes after a pregnant pause.

Let’s get to work,” Hikaru tells them.

~~~  
Captain Kirk looked at the four Lieutenants after they finished giving their reports. Hikaru sat up straight, trying to give off a confident and controlled air. 

“Ok, they agreed to help because you were fighting each other?” Kirk asked, asking Hikaru and Ben. Ben looked like he wanted to die and Hikaru agreed.

“Yes, Sir. Apparently our fighting reminded them of their mating rituals,” Hikaru explained, trying not to show his utter embarrassment. 

“Lucky day,” Kirk commented. “Were you able to repair their ship?”

“No,” Ben told him. “It was far too damaged. But we did drop them off on another world where they said they would be able to get passage back to their world.”

“We got a lot of readings on the planetoid where we dropped them off. It seems to be a neutral world with no allegiance to either the Federation or the Klingon Empire. Pirates and the like operate out of the location according to the signals being exchanged to the ships in the system,” Lt. Drury added. “I feel the Klingons will likely hire a charter or a mercenary to return them home.”

“I’ll forward a report to Starfleet headquarters. They’ll be interested to know about the location,” Kirk told them. “What did we learn about the planet where you crashed?”

Lt. Davis frowned. “Our scans were inconclusive. We’re not sure if it was merely some sort of security system that shot us down or something bigger. We’re still looking into it, Sir.”

Captain Kirk nodded. “This may be a mission left to Starfleet. Good work, everyone. Dismissed.”

Hikaru stood, sparing a look at Ben then left. They’d talk later.

***  
Third time:

Hikaru sat by the biobed in the semi-private area of sickbay, hunched in on himself as he leaned on his elbows, his forehead resting against his clasped hands. Ben was in the bed, only the quiet beeping of the monitoring equipment a constant signal that he was there. Hikaru had been in charge while the away team worked to rescue the Captain and Mr. Spock from a first contact gone badly and their ship had been attacked. They had won the battle, but Ben had been injured badly. As soon as he was relieved from duty, Hikaru came to be at his side. He had gone over the battle and saw a million ways he could’ve fought better, made the sorts of decisions that Kirk would’ve made instead and not hurt so many people. 

“Hell of a day,” Doctor McCoy said, interrupting Hikaru’s thoughts. Hikaru looked up in surprise and gasped as he saw the blood on the Doctor’s surgical top. 

“Are you- Is that yours?! Is it someone else’s?” Hikaru asked, alarmed.

McCoy looked at his front and Hikaru could see the blood residue on the man’s face. Hikaru’s guilt intensified. He hadn’t done enough to protect his crewmates!

“Partially? I got a nice goose egg and a cut so at least some of it’s mine,” he said, nonchalant. McCoy glanced up and registered the look on Hikaru’s face. “Whoa. Hey,” he said, getting Hikaru’s full attention. “This ain’t all you. This ain’t you at all, honestly. You did good up there.”

“People got hurt,” Hikaru said, shaking his head. “I mean, I went through the Kobayashi Maru just like everyone else but I should’ve been better!”

“And I shouldn’t have done half a dozen things in the last week alone,” McCoy pointed out. “It’s tough, having to deal with the ship and all it’s people. This is just another part of being in command,” he said with a shrug. “You did a hell of a job.”

Hikaru looked at him and nodded. “I just… I’m worried about Ben and everyone else that got hurt.”

“But Lt. Jeong especially?” McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow. “He’s only in a coma so he’ll heal. It’s actually ok,” he comforted. “There’s nothing that I don’t know about his condition.”

Hikaru looked at him. “What can you tell me?”

McCoy glanced at the monitor then looked back at Hikaru. “Wait… You’re not each other’s proxy, are you?”

Hikaru was silent.

“I could’ve sworn… Never mind. Look, when I say he’s going to be fine, he’s going to be fine,” McCoy told him. “Now get out of here. Sleep. Doctor’s orders.”

“Will you-,” Hikaru hesitated. “If he says it’s ok, will you alert me when he wakes?”

“Will it get you out of here?” McCoy asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

“Yes,” Hikaru agreed. 

“Then yes,” McCoy promised. “Now, get out of here. If you see Jim roaming the halls, send him to me.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Hikaru said, half managing a smirk. He still felt like he fucked up but it didn’t weigh as heavy somehow.

***  
Fourth Time

Hikaru took his seat at the Engineering Symposium, nodding at Keenser as he sat by the engineer. He was running late and the speaker was in the middle of her speech. Hikaru sank down a little, trying to catch up. At least he hadn’t missed Ben’s speech Ben about his latest project. Mr. Scott was also going to do a presentation of some of the new retrofits he had been able to complete on the Enterprise. Hikaru was really excited to see Ben speak even if this wasn’t Hikaru’s particular strong suit. He hoped that maybe this would help him understand a little more about what Ben and Mr. Scott did. 

The first speaker finished her talk on, from what he could tell, impulse engines and maybe making them faster. It was pretty sound, what little he heard. It would definitely help to have a faster impulse drive at least in his opinion. It would be really useful in-case the Warp Drive went offline for any reason. Hikaru glanced over at Keenser, who nodded approvingly. As the saner engineer he knew, Hikaru felt he was right in thinking this was a good idea. He’d mention it to Ben though and see what he said. Plus it would be hot to get him to talk about it. Hikaru smiled to himself and glanced up to see the next speaker. Ben strode onto the stage, looking nervous but he still waved at Hikaru and Keenser before smiling and starting his speech. 

“Hello. My name is Ben Jeong, I am an engineer, and I serve aboard the U.S.S Enterprise in Starfleet. Today I’m here to discuss Space Stations and what advances we can make to them,” he said, “I’ve been working on a new type of station, one that is in orbit. The Federation has to maintain a starbase on many worlds and a good percentage of those are planet based with maybe a space dock above. Which, ok, that’s worked very well. We have built a few stations that are in orbit around worlds. But with my newest plan, I hope to build a station that isn’t dependent on planetary gravity to keep it in orbit but to have its own orbit.” He said as he projected his plans. “As you can see here, I’ve taken the artificial gravity boosters that are within a ship and created a super booster that can hold and maintain a structure the size of, if my tests prove correct, a small planetoid. My hope with this is to create a place for beings to live and thrive as well serve as a jumping point for deep space exploration. I’ve filed my project with Starfleet and once they’ve evaluated its merit and the merit of other designs, the Yorktown project will begin.”

Everyone started clapping. Hikaru stood and whistled loudly as people joined him in standing and applauding. Once it calmed down, Hikaru waved to Keenser and left his seat, heading towards the backstage area. He could hear Mr. Scott start speaking as he made his way back to where Ben was behind the stage. He gently touched Ben’s shoulder, catching his attention before he wrapped his arms around his waist. “Hi there,” Hikaru whispered. Ben smiled at him, leaning in to kiss Hikaru’s forehead.  
“Hi yourself. How was it?” Ben asked quietly.

“I learned a lot and hope to learn much more about your project. Hopefully after we’ve had sex and you’re at your most talkative,” Hikaru told him with a smug smirk.

“You’re usually dozing off then. How will you retain what I teach you?” Ben retorted, squeezing Hikaru’s side. 

“I like how your voice sounds,” Hikaru replied. “So, just tell me again and again.”

Ben leaned down and kissed him. When they parted, Hikaru noticed the opening speaker watching them. She smiled, noticing him.

“You two are so sweet. It reminds of my own spouse. I didn’t realize you were married, Ben!” she said, moving closer.

Ben exchanged an embarrassed look with Hikaru. “Fetia… We’re not married,” he said. 

“Oh. Excuse me, I’m so sorry,” she said. “You have my apologies.”

Hikaru shook his head. “It’s fine,” he assured her. “It actually happens a lot. We’re just… We just got together a few months ago.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. “It’s kind of cool that we seem really together but I’d rather not rush.”

She grinned. “That’s pretty sensible. I know a few couples who rushed and it was a clusterfuck. Good on ya for just taking your time.”

Hikaru nodded and offered a hand, pulling away from Ben. “Hi, I’m Hikaru Sulu,” he introduced himself. “I liked what you said about the impulse engines.”

“Fetia Temaru. I’m on the USS Bradbury,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Is this something you’ve done over on the Bradbury? The increase in impulse output?” Hikaru asked. 

Fetia grinned. “Yeah,” she admitted. “She’s got a lot more kick now. It came in really handy when we were dealing with those Space Pirates last month.”

Hikaru grinned back. “It looks like I might have to do some light report reading soon.”

Fetia looked delighted. “Well, I’ll let you two get back to it. It was a pleasure meeting you, Hikaru. I’ll see you around, Ben.”

Hikaru glanced up at Ben, then leaned in and kissed him. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Do I ever,” Ben told him. 

***  
Fifth Time:

Captain Kirk looked at them with his head cocked. “So you’re saying that you’re,” he points at Hikaru. “Actually Lt. Jeong and you’re,” he points at Ben. “Actually Lt. Sulu? Like, c’mon. Is it April First?”

Hikaru winced. “We’re not joking, Sir,” he said, looking mournful. Ben’s body was weird. It felt different and wrong.

“We think it’s either something on-planet or the transporter has managed to do the previously thought impossible task of exchanging our neural patterns, Sir,” Ben pointed out.

Captain Kirk gave them a weird look. “Ok, that’s horrifying. What do we actually know?” he asked.

Hikaru exchanged a look at Ben, seeing his face make an expression he didn’t think he made. Ben looked at the Captain. “The transporters are passing every test Engineering has for the devices. Plus some of the ones Commander Scott invented. We’re almost certain that it has to do with something the Utei people.”

“What brings you to this conclusion?” Kirk asked.

Hikaru leaned forward. “I met with Lt. Jeong to update him and his team on our timetable. I accidently touched a device that he was studying. That’s when everything goes… blank.”

“So, you two made it to the transporter spot but you don’t actually remember anything past the device?” Kirk asked.

“Yes, Sir,” Ben and Hikaru both said.

“That does narrow it down. How are the two of you coping with this distinct change?” Kirk asked.

Ben and Hikaru looked at each other again. “It’s weird, Sir. Everything seems….” Hikaru trailed off.

“Just slightly off,” Ben finished.

Kirk nodded. “Do you guys want to take some time and get used to this? I’m going to go to the planet and try to speak to the High Council, see if this is normal. If it’s not, then we’ll need to start work on figuring this out.”

“If there’s anything we should be doing that would help-“ Hikaru told him as Kirk held his hand up.

“This is weird. Both of you have to have the time to adjust. When I need you, you’ll be the first to know,” Kirk told them with a smile.

“Yes, Sir,” they said in unison. 

“Dismissed. You should probably check in with Commander Spock as well. I know he was already working on the problem. He might have it solved already!” he said as he stood, dismissing them.

They stood and left the Captain’s ready room.

~~~  
“So, no one knows anything about this,” Hikaru said as he flopped onto Ben’s bed. “Not that I don’t like you, but when I want to be inside you, I didn’t mean like this!”

Ben was pacing by the bed, pausing to punch Hikaru in the thigh. “You’re terrible,” he groused. “What should we do now?”

“Make out?” Hikaru asked. 

“Think again,” Ben told him, resuming his pacing. “We’ve worked on our spatial awareness. What else should we do?”

“Hell, I don’t know,” Hikaru said with a sigh. “Things are so weird.”

“They really are. I’m in the middle of a big project and I can’t… Like I can still do things, it’s not that I can’t, but my hands aren’t as quick as they should be.”

Hikaru nodded. “I feel like I should be insulted but I feel exactly the same. Can I… can we do this together?” he asked.

Ben stopped with a smile and leaned down, kissing him. “Thank you.”

Hikaru met his eyes. “For what? Offering to help?” 

“For caring enough to offer,” Ben told him. “I love you, Hikaru.”

Hikaru closed his eyes and kissed him again. “I love you too, Ben. So, what can I do?”

Ben pulled him to his feet. “I’ll take you to my work area. Scotty will just yell a little,” he said holding his thumb and forefinger apart.

Hikaru chuckled. “Nah, he understands wanting to work.”

They left Ben’s quarters together.

~~~  
Doctor McCoy looked at the two of them in wry amusement as he attached monitoring devices to their necks. “So, do you want to know why y’all were switched?”

“I’d much rather be switched back but it is intriguing,” Hikaru told him.

McCoy chuckled. “It’s your lucky day, Mr. Sulu. I can do both. First of all, both of you need to touch this,” he said, holding a vase like device by the bottom. “Wait until I put it down though. As charming as not being in my own body sounds, it’s not an experience I want to deal with.”

Ben grinned at Hikaru as McCoy put the device on the biobed and stepped back. 

“On the count of three?” Ben asked, looking at Hikaru. 

Hikaru nodded. “One,” Hikaru said.

“Two,” Ben replied.

“Three,” they said in unison, reaching out and touching the artifact then each other.

Hikaru jerked back, feeling his entire being twist as his vision went dark and all of a sudden, he was on a biobed, looking up at the ceiling. “Am I…. Am I me?” he asked, hearing his own voice as he looked at his hands, seeing his own hands like this for the first time in days. “Thank fuck.”

“Seconded,” Ben groaned as McCoy walked between them, looking at the readings. 

“Back to good?” he asked, touching their shoulders and meeting their eyes.

“Yes,” Ben told him as Hikaru nodded. 

The Doctor sighed in relief. “Good. Now, as for the reason you this happened,” he drawled. “Now, I want you to remember I am merely a messenger in this.”

“C’mon, Doctor. Please tell us,” Hikaru told him.

“The Utei people use this device to help their life partners see things from each other’s points of view. It’s not supposed to actually switch minds. After doing some work, we determined that you both have a higher than the norm ESPer rating. Not enough to be actually telepathic but enough to be open to its growth. So, in the future, avoid any enhancements, alright?”

Ben boggled at him as Hikaru covered his face with his hand. He moved his mouth a few times, trying to form words and couldn’t come up with anything. Finally he just nodded. “Thank you. For getting us back to normal.”

“You’re welcome. You can return to duty after tomorrow. Is there anything else I can do for you?” McCoy asked, looking amused.

“No, I think you’ve done enough,” Ben told him. “Thank you.”

They rose off the beds and left before McCoy could change his mind.

***  
+1

Hikaru woke up alone. He turned onto his side, already frowning deeply. Ben had left the ship and gone back to Earth for a meeting about the design project he had started before their first date. This was the final step and Hikaru was so proud of him. But Hikaru was still all alone. Hikaru liked waking up with Ben. He wanted to wake up with Ben every morning. Hikaru sighed, finished feeling sorry for himself as he rose and went to the refresher. At least he was off-shift today.

After getting ready, he went to the mess hall and got his breakfast, joining Pavel, who was falling asleep into his syrniki dumplings. Hikaru slapped his hand upon the table, causing Pavel to jump and curse loudly in Russian. “Good morning, Pashaaaaaa,” Hikaru drawled, using Pavel’s patronym and laughing at him. The look Pavel gave him would’ve killed a Klingon. 

“Good morning, Hikaru,” Pavel said, icily. 

“Don’t get too upset with me. I need your expertise,” Hikaru told him.

Pavel rolled his eyes. “Maybe you should not interrupt my dreaming then,” he said dryly. “So, what can the amazing, wonderful Pavel Andreievich Chekov do for you?”

Hikaru pursed his lips, trying not to burst into laughter. “The amazing, wonderful Pavel Andreievich Chekov can help me pick out a ring.”

Pavel dropped his dumpling. “Wha- You’re going to ask?!” he gasped. 

Hikaru smiled and nodded. Pavel let out an excited screech, babbling in Russian as he leaned over and hugged Hikaru around the shoulders. “Da! Da, I will help you! This is so happy!”

“We need to keep it quiet. I don’t want Ben to find out,” Hikaru told him, looking around. Pavel shrugged.

“They are used to me,” he told him as he quickly stood, shoving the dumplings into his mouth. “C’mon! I have ideas!” Pavel told him with his mouth full. Hikaru grabbed his yoghurt and hurried after him, grinning widely.

~~~  
“I just… I want it to symbolize something,” Hikaru said, trying to explain. They couldn’t figure out what to create after Hikaru had gently turned down all of Pavel’s ideas. “Ben… He’s going places. I want that ring to be a connection.”

“You’re going places too,” Pavel told him. “The Enterprise-“

“Is going to deep space eventually. I know. But Ben isn’t,” Hikaru told him. “He’s been designing a new type of space station for months. He’s finding out their decision today. Either way, I don’t see him staying.”

Pavel looked at him and shook his head. “I could not imagine not being here,” he said softly.

“That’s where you and I agree. I want… I need to be here. But I need Ben,” Hikaru said. “I need him so much, Pavel.”

“We’ll figure it out, Hikaru. He’ll understand that and you’ll make it work,” Pavel comforted. “Now, let’s take a break, have some tea and ideas will come!”

Hikaru nodded as they went to the mess hall and grabbed some tea from the replicator. He leaned against the chair and frowned. 

Pavel leaned forward. “Hikaru,” he asked, his eyes lit with excitement. “I am a genius. Do you still have that plant? The one with the pods?”

“Which pods? Most plants have a seed pod, Pasha,” Hikaru told him. 

Pavel made a rude gesture. “I know, but the one…” he paused, working his jaw. “The metal pod! Is it seeding?”

Hikaru looked at him in surprise. “Why didn’t I think of that?!” he said, draining his cup and rising to his feet. “C’mon!”

He rushed out of the Mess Hall, tossing the cup into the trash chute and hurried to the botany lab with Chekov close behind him. The door slid open, allowing them into the lab as the smell of the many different plants mingled together. Hikaru loved it here and it was so perfect that he would find the one thing he needed most here as well. “Hey, it’s this way,” he told Pasha, turning by a plant bed and walking down to the end where several small metal tube containers sat on the ground, split open. “How many should we need?” 

Pavel picked up three. “This should be enough. I can reshape them and have a little extra.”

“I’ll come with and help,” Hikaru told him. 

“Of course,” Pavel agreed. “This is your project, I’m just helping you.”

~~~  
Hikaru was reading a novel about a fighter squadron in space when he heard the door slide open. He put down his Padd and turned to look, seeing Ben enter. Hikaru rose and immediately met him, pulling Ben into his arms. 

“Welcome back,” Hikaru said. They leaned in and kissed each other. “Did you bring me something from Earth?”

Ben held up a small box. “Here, for you,” he said, watching him closely.

“I was wanting candy,” Hikaru teased him and opened the box. His jaw dropped. “B-Ben?” he asked, looking a gold ring sitting in the box, insulated by a foam pad. 

“Will you be by my side, even when we’re apart?” Ben asked.

Hikaru swallowed and pulled the ring from his pocket. “Only if you will be as well,” he replied as he slipped it onto Ben’s ring finger. They kissed, sealing the deal.

FIN


End file.
